Hamlin said Thursday he was fined for saying that the new car, dubbed the "Gen-6," did not race as well as the old car. He made the comments after the second race for the new car, last week at Phoenix.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his Hendrick teammates are doing well with their Gen-6 cars as they enter 2013's third Sprint Cup race. (AP Photo)

Earnhardt has been adamant after some races about how he didn't like the rules package. As the 10-time most popular driver, Earnhardt knows his comments carry considerable weight, which increases his influence but also means his comments are often highly publicized.

In some ways, he might get more leeway from NASCAR because of his popularity, but he also knows his comments never remain under the radar.

For Earnhardt, he wasn't going to go deep into the controversy of the weekend. Things are going too well for him.

With two top-five finishes that have put him second in the Cup standings, Earnhardt hopes he can continue with the strong finishes. He sits second in the Cup standings behind teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Earnhardt has four top-10s in his past five races at Vegas, including an eighth in 2011 and a 10th in 2012 where he led 70 laps.

"This place has got a lot of bumps going into Turn 1," Earnhardt said. "They are something else, I'm impressed each time I come here how much rougher it is.

"That really challenges you to set the car up to be able to get through them bumps and you might run a little different style shock package to do that."

While the shock package might be different, Earnhardt believes that if he does well on this 1.5-mile oval, it could translate to others on the circuit.

"It does set the tone," Earnhardt said. "Confidence is everything and when you go to Vegas and you run well, you expect to go to the next mile-and-a-half at Texas or wherever it may be and run well."

In addition to the Cup race, Earnhardt is making a rare Nationwide race appearance at a non-restrictor-plate event.

Earnhardt sponsor TaxSlayer wanted him to run this race with it coming a month before taxes are due.

"It had probably a lot to do with the financial side of it, but I was looking forward to doing a little more (Nationwide) racing," Earnhardt said. "I do enjoy racing at the plate tracks, but I think to truly benefit me in any way on Sunday, I think it would be better to run at one or two more mile-and-a-halves.

"I'm excited to have the opportunity to run this weekend to hopefully learn a little bit about maybe the tire or something or how the track changed or what condition the track is in as far as Sunday goes."